Diabetes is an insidious disease that's reaching near epidemic proportions here in the united states of America in the twenty first century. Doctors and scientists attribute a confluence of factors to this event, most notably an increase in the intake of processed sugar (high fructose corn syrup in particuarly) and a lamentably sedentary lifestyle. So if you're looking for diabetes early signs, you'll want to look there first. Before you start showing any symptoms at all, you can take a good, hard look at your diet and lifestyle and see diabetes early signs for yourself.
If, however, it's too late and the disease is already upon you, then there are some diabetes early signs you can look for and find with relative ease.
First, you should note how often you use the bathroom. If you're visiting it more - much more, actually - then you may have early onset diabetes. You'll urinate all the time when you have too much glucose in the blood (which is what diabetes actually is - a build up of glucose in the bloodstream and a lack of glucose in your body's cells. Type 2 diabetes is the more common type, though the end result is the same).
The reason your peeing all the time is one of diabetes early signs is that your kidneys can't get glucose back to your blood if your insulin doesn't work properly. Your kidneys respond by leeching extra water out of your bloodstream in an effort to dilute the glucose, thereby keeping your bladder full and sending you to the bathroom all the time.
A secondary diabetes early signs related to this is that you'll always be thirsty because you'll always be dehydrated. This is part and parcel of the first of the diabetes early signs mentioned above. Be aware, though, that this unquenchable thirst happens much more rapidly and is more pronounced with Type 1 diabetes (where your insulin producing cells are actually destroyed) than in Type 2 (where your insulin producing cells are ineffective or impeded).
So on top of peeing all the time and your unquenchable thirs, you'll also be pooped. This is because glucose is what gives us our energy, and if you've got no insulin to help transition it to your cells, then you'll get no energy. You'll end up being tired, a veritable slug, nearly all the time.
There are other, lesser diabetes early signs such as numbness in your extremities, blurred vision, and dry skin. Keep an eye out for any or all of them, and make sure to eat a proper diet and see your doctor!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Knowing the type 2 diabetes risk factors may prevent you from ever developing this devastating disease!
Type 2 diabetes is now so common in this country, that you probably know several people with this condition. The type 2 diabetes risk factors come down to two basic categories: genetic disposition and diet. Knowing what these risk factors are can prevent you or other family members from ever developing this disease. Once diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, it's far more difficult to manage and avoid the many complications of this progressive and painful disease.
It's irrefutable that there is a genetic factor involved. Native Americans, Eskimos and African Americans have the highest rate of type 2 diabetes. This is probably due to the fact that both these ethnic groups have adopted a Westernized diet in a relatively short period of time. Their native diets did not include the highly refined and sugar laden diets most Americans eat today. While other ethnic groups may have a genetic advantage of centuries of the Western diet, gradually adapting over hundreds of years, no one is exempt. It may just take longer to develop.
Obesity is no longer confined to older folks. Due to poor dietary habits, we now find children who are both obese and afflicted with diabetes. This makes the connection to the effects of poor food choices and diabetes clear. It's the food you eat, as well as the amount, that made you overweight in the first place. No matter what your age, if you're overweight, lose it!
Genetics and obesity are clearly two important type 2 diabetes risk factors.
With poor dietary habits, you're a sitting duck! It's time to change your diet to more healthful foods. Knowledge is power. Knowing the specific type 2 diabetes risk factors in food choices can literally save your life.
Insulin resistance develops when you overload your pancreas with large meals of refined, high carb foods and lots of sugar, leading to compromised pancreatic function, reducing your body's ability to metabolize sugar. Pancreatic exhaustion is unequivocally, a type 2 diabetes risk factor. If, instead of eating the traditional three squares a day, you divide your food intake into several smaller meals a day, reduces the load on your pancreas, keeping it in good shape.
In addition to eating several small meals, make sure they are low in refined sugar, high in fiber and include complex carbohydrates, which slowly break down into sugars your pancreas can deal with at a moderate pace. A can of soda provides an instant rush of sugar into your bloodstream, whereas a plate of fruits or veggies is broken down over time.
Most fruits and veggies are also high in fiber, which flushes toxins from your body and keeps your digestive system healthy. People with type 2 diabetes are always told to include plenty of fiber in their diet, as one way to manage their condition and avoid complications. It stands to reason that a lack of fiber is another type 2 diabetes risk factor.
You've heard it said that drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day is essential to a healthy diet. Water flushes a variety of toxins from your kidneys, keeping them fit and healthy. Patients with type 2 diabetes usually suffer a deterioration of the kidneys, so help yours stay healthy with a daily intake of as much water as possible.
To top off your healthy eating program, stay active and get sufficient exercise. Your heart will thank you. A lack of exercise is also a type 2 diabetes risk factor, as cardiovascular problems go hand in hand with diabetes.
Understanding these risk factors and implementing a good anti-diabetic lifestyle puts you ahead of the curve!
It's irrefutable that there is a genetic factor involved. Native Americans, Eskimos and African Americans have the highest rate of type 2 diabetes. This is probably due to the fact that both these ethnic groups have adopted a Westernized diet in a relatively short period of time. Their native diets did not include the highly refined and sugar laden diets most Americans eat today. While other ethnic groups may have a genetic advantage of centuries of the Western diet, gradually adapting over hundreds of years, no one is exempt. It may just take longer to develop.
Obesity is no longer confined to older folks. Due to poor dietary habits, we now find children who are both obese and afflicted with diabetes. This makes the connection to the effects of poor food choices and diabetes clear. It's the food you eat, as well as the amount, that made you overweight in the first place. No matter what your age, if you're overweight, lose it!
Genetics and obesity are clearly two important type 2 diabetes risk factors.
With poor dietary habits, you're a sitting duck! It's time to change your diet to more healthful foods. Knowledge is power. Knowing the specific type 2 diabetes risk factors in food choices can literally save your life.
Insulin resistance develops when you overload your pancreas with large meals of refined, high carb foods and lots of sugar, leading to compromised pancreatic function, reducing your body's ability to metabolize sugar. Pancreatic exhaustion is unequivocally, a type 2 diabetes risk factor. If, instead of eating the traditional three squares a day, you divide your food intake into several smaller meals a day, reduces the load on your pancreas, keeping it in good shape.
In addition to eating several small meals, make sure they are low in refined sugar, high in fiber and include complex carbohydrates, which slowly break down into sugars your pancreas can deal with at a moderate pace. A can of soda provides an instant rush of sugar into your bloodstream, whereas a plate of fruits or veggies is broken down over time.
Most fruits and veggies are also high in fiber, which flushes toxins from your body and keeps your digestive system healthy. People with type 2 diabetes are always told to include plenty of fiber in their diet, as one way to manage their condition and avoid complications. It stands to reason that a lack of fiber is another type 2 diabetes risk factor.
You've heard it said that drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day is essential to a healthy diet. Water flushes a variety of toxins from your kidneys, keeping them fit and healthy. Patients with type 2 diabetes usually suffer a deterioration of the kidneys, so help yours stay healthy with a daily intake of as much water as possible.
To top off your healthy eating program, stay active and get sufficient exercise. Your heart will thank you. A lack of exercise is also a type 2 diabetes risk factor, as cardiovascular problems go hand in hand with diabetes.
Understanding these risk factors and implementing a good anti-diabetic lifestyle puts you ahead of the curve!
Diabetes Treatment
Having been Type I diabetic for over 14 years, I am always looking to improve my diabetes treatment. I have gone through teenage hormonal changes, two pregnancies and general illness all without much incidence, and I would like to keep it that way. Diabetes can be a very scary thing but with the proper diabetes treatment, it is most certainly a manageable disease.
There are two types of diabetes; Type I which is usually diagnosed during childhood, and Type II which is generally diagnosed after the age of 18. Each require a different set of diabetes treatment, mainly because a person with Type I does not produce any insulin on their own while a person with Type II is just extremely insulin resistant or makes very little insulin.
Type I diabetics basically have to take insulin in some form. There are now several options of diabetes treatment, though, which can make the process much more manageable especially for those weary of needles. The standard treatment is to use insulin by needle self injection as little as once per day and as much as six to eight times per day. There are both short and long acting insulins and most likely a person with Type I diabetes will need to take a mixture of both. If you are not fond of the idea of needles, there is now an insulin inhaler that has just been introduced to the market. It is not widely used yet, but when discussing your diabetes treatment with your doctor be sure to ask about it.
In addition, the most cutting edge diabetes treatment is the use of an insulin pump. An insulin pump site is inserted once every three days and acts like an external pancreas, giving the patient continuous short acting insulin to keep the constant blood sugar levels in normal ranges. When eating, the patient self administers insulin through the pump rather than giving shots. Realistically, I have found this to be the best diabetes treatment for myself because I have been able to adjust my insulin rates down to the half hour rather than taking shots and waiting for the insulin to react. While on the pump, I have been able to take my A1C levels (a three month overview of sugar levels) from 7.1 to as low as 4.2 during pregnancy. Normal ranges are 4.0 to 7.0, so my doctors were quite pleased with this as was I.
Be sure to check out all of your options and take an active role in your diabetes treatment. The disease is quite manageable, especially if you take control and ask questions.
There are two types of diabetes; Type I which is usually diagnosed during childhood, and Type II which is generally diagnosed after the age of 18. Each require a different set of diabetes treatment, mainly because a person with Type I does not produce any insulin on their own while a person with Type II is just extremely insulin resistant or makes very little insulin.
Type I diabetics basically have to take insulin in some form. There are now several options of diabetes treatment, though, which can make the process much more manageable especially for those weary of needles. The standard treatment is to use insulin by needle self injection as little as once per day and as much as six to eight times per day. There are both short and long acting insulins and most likely a person with Type I diabetes will need to take a mixture of both. If you are not fond of the idea of needles, there is now an insulin inhaler that has just been introduced to the market. It is not widely used yet, but when discussing your diabetes treatment with your doctor be sure to ask about it.
In addition, the most cutting edge diabetes treatment is the use of an insulin pump. An insulin pump site is inserted once every three days and acts like an external pancreas, giving the patient continuous short acting insulin to keep the constant blood sugar levels in normal ranges. When eating, the patient self administers insulin through the pump rather than giving shots. Realistically, I have found this to be the best diabetes treatment for myself because I have been able to adjust my insulin rates down to the half hour rather than taking shots and waiting for the insulin to react. While on the pump, I have been able to take my A1C levels (a three month overview of sugar levels) from 7.1 to as low as 4.2 during pregnancy. Normal ranges are 4.0 to 7.0, so my doctors were quite pleased with this as was I.
Be sure to check out all of your options and take an active role in your diabetes treatment. The disease is quite manageable, especially if you take control and ask questions.
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